Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a marking device for marking information media, with a housing, with a marking unit, with a marking region made inside the housing, and with a receiving device for receiving at least one information medium, whereby the receiving device can be moved between a loading and unloading position outside of the marking region and a marking position inside the marking region.
Description of Related Art
In industrial and commercial practice, different types of identifying and marking signs for identifying and labeling machines, devices, clamps or cables, to which information relative to the components to which they are assigned is applied, are used. To this end, the identifying or marking signs are usually provided in a marking device with a corresponding marking pattern, in general alphanumeric characters. In this case, the marking can be done in particular by means of a printer, for example an inkjet printer, a thermal transfer printer, or a UV printer, with which the information is imprinted on the respective identifying or marking sign. Such marking printers are known from, for example, the catalog “Markierungssysteme Werkzeuge Montagematerial [Marking Systems Tools Assembly Material], 2011 CLIPLINE 2,” pages 26 to 29 of the Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG.
Moreover, marking devices that have a marking laser as a marking unit, which laser directly exposes the surface of the identifying or marking sign to be marked to a laser beam, so that the marking is not done by printing but rather by treating the material of the identifying or marking sign, have been used for several years. Depending on the material of the identifying or marking sign and depending on the wavelength of the laser, in this case the marking can be done by staining carbonization, foaming, engraving, or material removal. The marking device according to the invention preferably has such a marking laser as a marking unit, without, however, the invention being limited thereto.
For marking the individual identifying or marking signs, the latter can be inserted individually into a corresponding receptacle in the marking region of the marking device. This has the advantage that relative to the size of the identifying signs, a very great flexibility exists. In this connection, however, the relatively large amount of time required for the exact positioning of the identifying or marking sign within the marking region is disadvantageous, so that marking devices, in the case of which the identifying or marking signs have to be inserted individually into a receptacle, are suitable only for marking small numbers of units.
In addition to individual, in most cases larger, identifying or marking signs, so-called marking units or cards that have multiple individual identifying signs, which are attached via arms in an outer frame, are in practice often used. After the marking, the individual identifying signs, which are often used for conductor and cable marking or for clamp marking, can be separated from the frame of the marking unit. Moreover, multiple identifying or marking signs can also be applied, in particular glued, on a common carrier sheet, from which the individual identifying or marking signs can be easily peeled off after the marking. In practice, such carrier sheets are often also referred to as labeling sheets or sheetstock. Below, the different types of identifying and marking signs in general are referred to as information media, whereby in this case, this can involve both individual identifying or marking signs and marking units or carrier sheets with multiple identifying or marking signs.
An above-described marking device for marking identifying signs with a marking laser as a marking unit is known from, for example, German Patent Application DE 10 2010 051 539 A1 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 8,941,705 B2. The marking device has a housing that consists of a housing base and a hood as well as a rotary table provided with a support surface for the identifying signs. In this case, the rotary table is between a labeling position, in which the support surface is completely covered by the hood, and a loading position, in which the support surface is movably located outside of the hood. To prevent laser light from penetrating the housing, sealing ridges are provided that are to seal the gap between the housing base and the hood. As a result, the marking laser can be operated without a user having to wear protective goggles.
If a larger number of information media are to be marked with the known marking device, this is relatively time-consuming, since the individual information media must always be placed manually on the support surface of the rotary table. Moreover, only marking units whose dimensions are matched to the preset dimensions of a recess made in the rotary table can be marked with the known marking device.